Sounders’ White close to returning to lineup

SEATTLE — Maybe it will be today against Colorado, or maybe it will be Wednesday against Manchester United, but sometime soon, O’Brian White will step back onto the field in a Sounders FC uniform.

And whenever that day happens for White, it will be a special moment for the Jamaican forward. You see, White isn’t coming back from a run-of-the-mill soccer injury like a sprained knee or ankle, he is coming back from something that could have been life threatening.

Early in the season, White, whom Seattle acquired in an offseason trade, felt off and on numbness in his leg. He kept playing after an MRI revealed nothing unusual, but when the problem persisted, doctors performed an ultrasound that revealed a blood clot. Had White not been a professional athlete so in tune with his body, or had he not had immediate access to top-notch medical attention, things could have turned out much, much worse. But as it was, White still needed surgery that potentially could have been season ending.

After slowly working his way back into training, however, White was taken off the disabled list this week, and sometime soon, most likely as a substitute, White will return to action. Looking back, however, White admits those days in late April were a little frightening at first.

“It’s not normal at all,” he said. “Especially just going there to do the ultrasound and then the doctor told me we had to do the surgery right away. It was a shock to me. I just had to get it done.”

White has had to battle back from a torn ACL before, a much longer process, but he said this experience has been more life altering.

“This one has definitely changed the way you feel about everything,” he said. “Anything can happen at any given time. It’s good thing the doctors found it early and got it out.”

Immediately after the surgery, White was listed as, “Out indefinitely,” and there was no real time table on when, if it all, he could return this season. The key to him returning to action was when doctors told White he could stop taking blood thinners.

“Once they were able to come to a determination that his recovery could continue without him having to be on blood thinners that made the prospects of him returning much greater,” said Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid. “If he would have had to stay on blood thinners, then participating in a contact sport is a lot more difficult. Once that decision was made, which was made pretty early on, that obviously got our hopes up.”

Schmid said White will likely return to action either today or Wednesday, and while the forward would certainly welcome a cameo at the end of today’s game against Colorado — coincidentally the last team he faced before the surgery — he also sees the value in waiting until Wednesday to return in a game that doesn’t count in the standings.

“That would be good,” he said. “It’s a game with no pressure. I could just go out there and get the habit of playing back. Definitely no matter how much you train, match fitness is a bit different. It would be good to get back in the friendly and break a sweat.”

The timing of the blood clot was especially frustrating for White because, prior to the diagnosis, he was playing some of the best soccer of his MLS career. After earning a starting job with his new team, White scored goals in consecutive games in early April, but two games later he was on the disabled list.

“Yeah, definitely (the timing was tough),” he said. “Everything was getting better, starting to flow. Then the injuries, not just for myself, but Steve (Zakuani) went out in the same game. … I’m glad to be back now and able to join the team fully.”

Of note

The last time Seattle faced Colorado, Steve Zakuani was lost, likely for the season, when Rapids midfielder Brian Mullan broke the left winger’s leg with a vicious tackle. Mullan has already served the 10-game suspension handed out by the league, but according to the Denver Post, Colorado coach Gary Smith decided to leave Mullan at home for this trip. Even if Mullan had played, Sounders FC players say the game is ancient history, and that winning, not revenge, would be the focus today.

Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com.